Conduct Heavenly Business Here On Earth - [Luke 19:13]

The Brevity of Life and the Need to Number Our Days

Our Father in Heaven, the first day of this week or the beginning of a new week and we thank you for your mercies towards us. We thank you that you've kept us through not only this past week, but this time of year we consider the past year, these 12 months, and we've experienced of your goodness.

We thank you for your great kindness. We're thankful that you ever think upon us, we are your very own, bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, your dear Son. And so we come before you this morning asking that you would please bless us, please remember us today, teach us, Lord please tune our hearts to sing your praises, Lord give us a desire to worship you as we should and help us to do that in spirit and in truth and do it to the glory and honor of Christ.

As we consider your word this morning, may we be taught of the Holy Spirit, may our lives be changed, may not only it reach our minds and we understand what we read and hear, but that it so grips us that we can't live the same.

We pray that you would help us and equip us for the week that's ahead and for the new year that's coming. I will give you the praise and the glory in Jesus' precious name, amen. Well can you believe it's December 30th, there's only this day and then tomorrow and this year is gone.

And truly as the scriptures tell us, our lives are very brief, they're like a mist, James wrote. They're like when you go outside on a cold day, just the other day Naomi living in California, coming back home for a vacation at this time of year, she went outside once and she exhaled and you could see the mist and she says, you can't do that in California.

And that is what our life is like, you know, that mist comes out and then it's gone. Our lives are swifter than the Weaver shuttle, it says, faster than the post, like we would say faster than like FedEx or maybe even something that can be delivered on the internet.

Our lives are so quick and the psalmist says to us that we, as we come before the Lord, we should ask the Lord to teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. And what I want to do today is I'd like to in this class just kind of give us a time to reflect upon 2007 and also prepare ahead for 2008.

It's just around the corner and it's a great mercy, isn't it, of the Lord to think of what has taken place in our lives in 2007. The Lord has been good to us. It is of the Lord's mercies that we have not been consumed.

Great is his faithfulness, as it says in Lamentations chapter 3. When we consider what is man that God is mindful of him, who are we that God would think upon us and care about us and yet we know for a fact, for those of us here who name the name of Christ, that it is because of the grace of God that he has saved us.

It is according to us, not by our works of righteousness, Titus 3, 5 says, but according to God's mercy, he saved us. And that mercy and that grace has brought us a wonderful gift of salvation for us to know Jesus Christ personally, for us to walk with God, for us to be the children of God.

And I don't know about you, but sometimes it's good for me to kind of just think about what is life about, take a little bit of an inventory, see where I've come from and see where I'm heading. And more importantly, seeing what it is that God is doing.

I remember one of the descriptions when I was reading through the Old Testament. I can't tell you what book it is, but I think it spoke of the men of Issachar. And it said that they were men of understanding because they knew what God was doing.

Basically, they knew what God was doing in their generation. Isn't it, isn't it, I mean, if you, some of you who are young here, you may not be able to do this. If you're, if you're in your 20s now, maybe you can think back of like what it was like when you were six or seven or eight years old.

And if you're in your 40s, maybe look back on your 20s. If you're in your 50s and above, you can look back at any, any earlier year and you can think, and you can think, and I just said this to somebody the other day, I didn't know anything.

I was totally ignorant. I mean, when it came to life, when it came to what it, what it meant to live before God, live in the fear of God, live, live with the right attitude towards God and towards the things of God.

And think about time and the preciousness of it. Think about the gift of just being able to breathe and to live and to move and and have our being all a gift from God. And sometimes we just don't take that inventory and we just take for granted that we are going to live another day.

And you'll remember in James chapter four, remember James writing to those men who were making their plans. It's okay to plan, but they were making their plans without reference to God. And they were thinking tomorrow we'll do this and we'll do that.

You can just see them kind of taking the map of Massachusetts out and saying, well, the United States and we're going to go here and we're going to do this and do this and get gain and make a profit. And the whole light and the whole idea, James comes back and he says, it's so foolish to think that way, to to plan without reference to God.

And don't we have and as I see Pastor Mike's here, Pastor Steve is preaching down the Cape this morning, Cape Cod. Pastor Lou and his wife, what's his wife's name? Do you remember? I can't remember. They had a little baby, Amy, Amy, and Rocco is the name of the baby.

And that's where Pastor Steve is. And sometimes as pastors, we'll have folks that come to us and it's and their plan is already signed, sealed and delivered. They're just coming to us just to let us know, you know, would you put your stamp of approval on that?

There's there's no upfront counsel. There's no seeking advice. And and it's dangerous to do that. There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. And sometimes when we plan, we don't plan with reference to wisdom.

We don't plan with reference to what God's word says. We don't plan with reference to God at all. And that was their whole problem was we will do this. We and I and it's it's not taking into account what would God have us to do?

What is the will of God for us? If you read there in James chapter four. So it's good for us to to consider where we are and who we are and where we're going. And in here on the on the brink of 2008, maybe we look back on 2007 and say, you know, there were things that that by the grace of God in my life were changed and I did well.

But then we can look at our lives and say there are things that we did not do well and may and need improvement or need repenting of. I need to change. I need to go in an opposite direction. And I hope the Sunday school class this morning will will help us in either way as we look back or as we look forward, either way, get a little bit of a focus upon what what it is to be a believer and what our focus ought to be.

And hopefully I'm going to I'm going to ask you for some input, even from the very beginning, I'm going to share with you. I had two Sunday school lessons prepared and this one seemed to be the one that that seemed to fit better.

The other one I liked because it was it was maybe I might have got more of input from you and it kind of it was entitled. I was thinking maybe I'll use it some other time over the short brevity of my life, the things that I've learned by the grace of God.

Gospel Priorities: Following Christ, Evangelism, and Eternal Treasure

But here this morning, what I'd like to do is I'd like to consider, if you turn with me, you can turn first to Luke chapter 19, that's where we'll end up for a text. But I want to share with you, I don't know if it's this is life versus or versus that have made an impact upon me.

And you can hold your place in Luke 19. I'm going to be looking at a couple of other verses before we actually get to this text. But there are times when when I reflect upon when I meditate, when I muse, as the psalmist would say, and really consider and think about some texts of scripture that really grip me.

And when I think about them, they cause me to be very either very convicted or very encouraged to be able to go on in the faith. And for me personally, I'll give you a few of them and maybe I'll ask if any of you have some.

One of them is Matthew 419, where Jesus said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And evangelism, the spread of the gospel, the spread of Christ's kingdom is very important. Jesus came on the scene preaching, repent and believe the gospel, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And when I read a verse and when I think of follow me and I will make you fishers of men. That's what we've been called to do. And sometimes I think about my my year and I look back and I say there are many opportunities that I took and there are many opportunities that I lost.

Lord, forgive me. And I'm going to go on and and strive by the grace of God to do better. Matthew six verses 19 and 20. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves can break through and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust do corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. There are some times when I don't give a thought about that item that I'm purchasing as far as eternity goes or as far as as far as it being a spiritual act.

But then there are some times when I take out my pen and I and I write that check and I know the seriousness and the weightiness of writing that that check for whatever it is and particularly when it comes time to paying bills.

And I think of Matthew six thirty three is another verse that that has made such an impression upon me. Seek ye but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you to put God's things first and to give of your first fruits.

And I think when it comes to budget time it's like that's the time to write that check right off the top. Not wait for the end and and give the Lord the scraps but give him the best and to write that check.

And sometimes it's like I don't know but the Lord loves a hilarious giver. It says a cheerful giver. And I don't know if you've just been beside yourself as you've written that check and say I can't I can't believe that God would save me and allow me to work and to be able to have a job to work to have an income to be able to write a check and give it to the church.

And through that check the church is supported and the gospel is going to go forth and we have full time folks on the staff and literature and books and in ministry and in radio broad you know radio advertisements and people coming in and it's like and God allows me to be part of that and it in my little portion helps.

So I want to seek first the kingdom of God. Another verse that that is very very weighty to me is first Corinthians 10 31. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do do all to the glory of God to have every thing that we do in our lives be for the glory of God.

Second Corinthians 5 in verse 10 is another one speaking of that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive of the things done in his body. There's going to be a judgment the beam a seat coming one day that will stand before the Lord and will in the verse I'm going to get into a Luke chapter 19 will will kind of deal with that.

But the seriousness and the weightiness of us suppose a striving and mode of the motivation for us to be pleasing unto the Lord and to live a life of joy and peace and rest in Christ and all that we have and and the wonderful gifts.

I mean even just thinking John chapter 10 is a is a there's a wonderful passage in there around verse 27 to verse 30 where it says that you know Jesus says that he gives unto us eternal life and we shall never perish and neither shall any man pluck us out of his hand as father which gave them to him as Pastor Mike preached last week is greater than all and no man is able to pluck us out of the father's hand.

Just the the idea of the fact that when it comes to salvation it is secure it is eternal is an eternal redemption. It is eternal life. It is it is an amazing gift that God has given to us and it cannot be taken away and really doesn't that help you when someone comes up and says you know I this thing about salvation or being a Christian you know if I just don't told the line if I don't if I don't work if I don't do it then I could lose my salvation.

Isn't it just a just a wonderful grace from God to reveal the truth to us in the scriptures that we are kept by the power of God through faith in Jesus Christ that we are eternally the Lord's and that is something that that likely some of these other verses are convicting but that is a verse that is just so foundational it's just it is just underneath us so you can just see underneath us and sense underneath are the everlasting arms.

Another verse that that that hits me every once in a while as Philippians 121 where Paul says for me to live is preaching or for me to live is my missionary journeys or for me to live is is being able to to know the the Greek and the Hebrew he know he says in those things I'm not belittling those things those are things that are important but for to me to live is Christ.

He says for me to live is everything that it wasn't his family it wasn't it wasn't though it was friends it wasn't the the care of the churches all those those things were things that so gripped and motivated and and got a hold of Paul's life and heart that he totally gave himself to those things he abandoned himself for Christ and he gave himself for the church and for others.

But he said for me to live is Christ. Colossians 323 set your affections on things above not on things of the earth. So these are types of verses. I mean does anybody do you have like a life verse. Do you have a verse that maybe as the year is wrapping up one that God has brought to you and has been very helpful to you this year.

Does anybody have one. You want to share one. I can keep going on but I'd like to hear from you too anybody I'll give you another one as they think about it first Thessalonians 2 4. But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel even so we speak not as pleasing men but God which tries our hearts.

We have been privileged we have been allowed we have been entrusted with. I like the way pastor Mike puts it sometimes I get to do this. I get to preach I get to serve. I mean it's it's a privilege that we have from from the Lord and we've been entrusted.

And it's an important thing being entrusted of course with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I'm going to touch on that as we go on a little bit. I remember even one verse every once in a while of course that this one is gives us great hope.

In the very last book of the Bible the very last second the last verse of the of the scriptures John is writes. And he says he which testifies these things says. And he's here's the words of the Lord.

Surely I come quickly. Amen. So be it even so come Lord Jesus the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be with you all. Amen. Scripture going over it memorizing it meditating upon it personalizing it living it desiring to walk in it and having it having it grip us in and having it make an effect or have an effect upon us not just to read it to know it but to read it to live it.

And it is uh it is. Verses like this. Um there was another one I was thinking of in Colossians chapter 3. Um I'll have to read it because I can't remember how it starts but Colossians chapter 3 and in verse 23 kind of very similar to first Corinthians 10 31.

And whatsoever you do do it heartily do it. That word means to do it from the soul with with all of your being with your intellect with your will your your volition your emotion and with all your affection do it.

Do it heartily as to the Lord not under men knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ. What a what a privileged people we are to be called the sons and daughters of God.

And I was wondering did anybody think of one. Did you have one. Yes it's God. God is uh he helps. He's the helper of the helpless. There's a psalm in the King James where it says that God takes us up off the dung hill.

I don't have to be descriptive enough to tell you what that is. But God takes us off of the dung hill and he puts us in palaces. I think of Mephibosheth in the Old Testament. Remember him. He's there and I think he lived in Lodibar.

And because of a promise that David had made to his friend Jonathan that he would watch over his seed and Mephibosheth being of the seed of of Jonathan he goes and he snatches him out of Lodibar. And if you remember the the account of Mephibosheth when he was younger the maid had taken him up to flee and dropped him I believe.

And he became lame on his feet. He was an invalid. And David brings him into the palace and he is to sit at David's table and to feast and be taken care of all the days of his life. A great and perfect picture of a sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins.

Lame when it comes to the things of God and God comes and he makes and changes the whole situation like we heard last week about being reconciled to God through the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ.

And we come into that relationship with God and surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Another verse. Another one. Fred.

Yeah security in the Lord. We though we and we will fall. It says we will but we will not be utterly cast down. The Lord upholds us with his hand. Bruce. Amen. Amen. Any others. None. Okay. Let's do this.

Stewardship, Occupy Till I Come, and Conducting Heavenly Business

Let's go to Luke chapter 19 and I'll take the remainder of the time and just hopefully you the Lord will encourage us here will refocus us will cause us to think upon 2007 and then look ahead to 2008 with a with a hope with an encouragement that our God will be strong on our behalf.

We've got something to do as as believers as servants of the Lord. If you look with me in Luke chapter 19 I'll begin reading in verse 11 this is right after the account of Zacchaeus and the Lord had said the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost in verse 10.

And in verse 11 it says. And as they heard these things he added and spake a parable because he was nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. And he said therefore a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them occupy till I come or do business until I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a message after him saying we will not have this man to reign over us.

And it came to pass that when he was returned having received the kingdom that he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money and that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Then came first. Then came the first saying Lord thy pound hath gained 10 pounds. And he said unto them well thou good servant because thou has been faithful in very little have thou authority over 10 cities.

And the second came saying Lord thy pound hath gained thy pound hath gained 5 pounds. And he said likewise him be thou over 5 cities. And another came saying Lord here is thy pound which I have kept laid up in a napkin for I feared thee because thou art an austere man or an exacting or a harsh man thou take us up.

Thou layest not down and reapest. Thou did not so. And he said unto him out of thine own mouth will I judge thee thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man taking up that I had laid not down a reaping that I didn't had did not so.

Wherefore then gave us not thou money to the bank that at my coming I might have required mine own with interest or usury. And he said unto them that stood by take from him that pound and give it to him that 10 pounds.

And they said to him Lord he hath 10 pounds. For I say unto you that everyone which hath shall be given and from him that hath not even that he hath shall be taken away from him. Those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them bring hither and slay them before me.

Of course we cannot look at all of this text but what I like to concentrate on is around verse 13 where we have we have this account where there are these servants. And there's a certain nobleman. Of course if you if you study and you look into this of course this speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ who is buried.

He walked out of the grave he's now ascended into heaven. He's in the presence of the Father in a far country compared to here below and he's going to receive for himself a kingdom. God the Father exalts Jesus he puts him at his right hand he is appointed sovereign Lord over the church and Jesus will one day come to judge all men.

And he's given all authority in heaven and in earth. He is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. And it says he is going to return. And the scriptures are clear when it comes to the return of Christ.

But what I'd like to focus on are the the objects of this who are going to experience this. We have we have these servants in verse 13 the message these slaves these 10 slaves and brethren this message is for us today.

It's relevant for us those who profess to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and they he is our our savior. We are now servants of the living God and we are in this world to represent him. And here it says in this text that he gave them he gave them this these pounds or or in your in your um in your translation it might be a a minor it could be it's just a small amount of money it equated to about three months wages and he said he wanted them to do something with that.

At the end of verse 13 he says occupy till I come or your your translation might say do business. And that's the focus for the remainder of of the Sunday school class this idea that that God has entrusted us with a stewardship and what are we going to do with it.

How did we do in 2007. Maybe we'll reflect upon that and maybe we'll be able to look back and say you know by the grace of God I I was able to do um this or that for the glory of Christ and I'm just thankful for what God did.

I and then you might think well I I missed many opportunities and but God has been good to me and and I know that God is a God who is ready to forgive and I confess my sin and I've repented of it and I've looked to him for mercy.

And I I strive by the grace of God not only just to do all and to excel in all that I do but what we have here is this this parable this this earthly story with a heavenly meaning this uh physical um account with a with a spiritual teaching behind it for us.

And I wonder if we've just considered what it is that the Lord's given to us what is it that God has entrusted us with. What is it what is it that we are to be stewards of. And the Greek this word um represents as I said about three months wages it is um it is a small amount of money.

The master has gone away he's going to return in a little while and he gives us a sufficient portion for us and he says occupy. It means that in the Greek means to busy oneself. It means to trade. It means to make a profit.

In other words Jesus is saying do business until I come back. We are not given this money just just to hide it someplace and we see later on that that is that is the wrong attack to take but we're supposed to do something with it the money representing um the stewardship that we have the complete stewardship.

And I'd like to list some of maybe discuss that a little bit and get some input from you. If as uh as we go on here the Lord would have us to do business for him we are to hear his words and be obedient and act upon his command to to be a representative of Jesus Christ.

Daniel all right. I as I said I won't be able to get into all this. But there's a group of people that are obedient to him and they are going to be his servants. And there's a group of people that are his enemies in verse 14 you have the enemies you have those that don't want him to rule over him and they're the ones at the end that you will see that are judged differently.

But then there's a group of people that have been given this. I think the ones in verse 14 are the ones that are dealt with in verse 27 as his enemies you'll see there. But the other ones that received the other ones that receive talents the ones that receive some type of a stewardship they're all judged based upon what they did with it.

One did great with a great return one had a lesser return and then the third one had no return professing to be a believer. And that's a whole nother message. It could be it could be somebody who professes to have faith but there's just no fruit there and he's uh he's dealt with.

And you can look back in first Corinthians chapter three and you can see that there are those that that serve. They're there. They name the name of Christ they profess to be Christians. They they are in the church and they are um it's it's the wood hay and stubble it's the worthless things that they've done and that they that's how they've taken care of the stewardship.

And then there are the gold silver and the precious stones and that's the worthwhile labors for Christ that will be judged upon. But you'll still notice that those in first Corinthians three it says that those who had the wood hay and stubble were being saved yet by fire they're just they didn't have much to show for themselves.

I think there's there's two groups of people here that that we can see in this account. But back to verse 13 this occupy i think the idea here is that we are to be ambassadors for Christ we are to conduct this is another one of the better ways i could put this to conduct heavenly business on earth in a very hostile day with what God has given to us as far as talents abilities spiritual gifts time the gospel and so forth the truth of the of the word of God we are to serve our master and complete opposite as those that hated him.

As we just looked at in in verse 14 the idea is is i believe the Lord would have us to make a profit with the resources that he's entrusted us with at my job at my company and maybe if you work at a company they have a they have a training budget and so many training days are allowed for all the employees in the company and they send us away.

Maybe it might be off-site or some of that training is done in-house and the company after tooling us after getting our skill set raised after increasing our knowledge of our job or the tools that we need or giving us some tools they expect a return.

If you take money and you take it to the bank and you're going to put it in a in a savings account it has two percent interest. You would hope that after the year though or the period of time that it's been in there you go back and you expect that that interest even our our Lord and his teaching use that that principle in here you expect to get something if you've invested.

And the idea here is that the Lord has has entrusted us as believers not just the select few but every believer every person who names the name of Christ has been given as it were these these resources.

It's it's equated here with the in the parable with this amount of money. And the idea is is that not only has the Lord gone away but he's given us some resources and he is going to return. And when he returns he expects increase he expects a gain he expects profit that we are to do something with that which he's given to us and think about it.

What are the things that the Lord has brought our way. I think I'll just open it up. I have a I have a list but I'll open it up. What is it that God at his mercy that God when it comes to visiting us with salvation he comes to the center and we can we know that God has visited us with with the knowledge of Jesus Christ and and we have forgiveness of sins with the children of God through faith in Christ as the scriptures tell us and we have been saved.

But a person who's been saved that's not all I mean the whole idea isn't you know we're just saved and there's this bed of ease there's you know blue skies and green grass and rosy carpets and it's just kind of coast and nothing.

There's no responsibility I we are. You read the apostle Paul and it's all these all these words like this agonizing this striving this wrestling this pressing the with the not only with the military terms but with the athletic terms of pressing in and pressing towards Christ and to giving our all for the glory of the Lord.

What is it that God has deposited with us as believers. Somebody tell me something. What is it. What has he given us. Bruce. Okay so that would kind of go to uh first Thessalonians 2 for the verse I quoted we've been entrusted with the gospel.

Now what do we do with this gospel. We sit on it. I was just thinking yesterday we either going to warehouse what we have kind of just store up the the privilege that we have the knowledge of that you know warehouses sit on it hide it under the the bushel basket.

Or what we're going to do. Bruce we're going to give it to others. That's the that's the uh responsibility we have follow me. I'll make you fishers of men go into all the world and and preach that gospel deliver it.

Now look back on 2007. That's a that's a something that's been deposited to us you know. And sometimes we think you know I just I just can't handle the sword. Uh like brother so and so or like brother Bruce or or pastor Mike or pastor Steve.

I mean they they really can wield that sword and they can really deal it out. As far as giving out the truth you look back on some of the folks in scripture I was thinking of the blind man in John chapter 3.

He doesn't fully even understand what all took place. But he still pointed back to Jesus Christ. He still pointed back to who it was that made the change in his life. And when it comes to giving out the gospel don't think that you have to arrive.